Objective To explore the current status and influencing factors of depression in middle-aged and elderly patients with diabetes in China, and to provide a reference for developing prevention and intervention strategies to improve their mental health.Methods Using the data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey （CHARLS） conducted in 2020, a total of 2 159 middle-aged and elderly diabetic patients aged ≥45 years were screened and selected as research subjects.Whether they had depressive symptoms was judged based on the assement results of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale, and logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyze its main influencing factors.Results Among middle-aged and elderly diabetic patients, 44.7% exhibited depressive symptoms.Logistic regression analysis showed that, gender, age, place of residence, educational background, physical pain, social interaction, sleep time, self-rated health status, life satisfaction were influencing factors of depression in middle-aged and elderly patients with diabetes （all P＜0.05）.Conclusion The incidence of depression in middle-aged and elderly patients with diabetes in China is relatively high, and it is influenced by multiple factors.Medical staff should pay attention to the mental health of middle-aged and elderly patients with diabetes, strengthen rural mental health system establishment, conduct mental health education to improve their health and life satisfaction, finally enhance their mental health status.